The Board

Meet the CDAH Board

David BelcherPresident

David has a commitment to disability activism and building a collective voice for people with disability in the Hunter. David has also had extensive experience in politics working on several campaigns at local, state and federal levels and is currently a councillor at Lake Macquarie City Council. David has also established connections with many of the State and Federal members in the local area. He holds a degree in Political Science from the University of New England.
David was born with Lumbosacaral Agenisis and uses a wheelchair for mobility.

Stephen HallinanVice-President

​Stephen is a retired electrical engineer and spent many years working in the electricity supply industry. Since leaving the industry, Stephen has undertaken a diverse range of activities in the community and service sectors. Stephen is blind and has significant hearing loss, but has not allowed these challenges to deter him from living a life of his choice. He has a Bachelor of Engineering (electrical), a Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies, and a Master of Science (Speech and Language Processing).

Kristy Trajcevski​Treasurer and Secretary

​Kristy is in her early 30s and has graduated with a law degree. Kristy is on the Board of People With Disability Australia (PWDA) which has complemented her commitment to people with disability and also her keen interest in issues of governance.

Kristy is passionate about the role of user-led organisations and is committed to building a strong collective voice for people with disability.

Her interests are reading, going to the movies, having coffee with friends and spending time with family.

Debbie Hamilton
​Director

​Debbie is a mental health activist living in the Hunter area. She was elected to the first ever National ‘Consumer’ Council and was pivotal in the development of a ‘consumer’ voice in both the Hunter Mental Health Service (now the Hunter New England Mental Health Service) and RichmondPRA when there was none. Recently, Debbie has been active both nationally and locally, with a view to improving the access, planning and choice for all people with a disability within the NDIS. Amongst other work she is an advisor to Hunter ‘Partners in Recovery’ and has helped develop safety, quality and supported decision making frameworks for the NDIS with regard to psychosocial disability. She has recently become a participant in the NDIS and continues to strive for the proper inclusion of people with a ‘different’ experience of their mental health. She has a Bachelor of Medicine (hons) and a Graduate Diploma in Bioethics.

(A note on the word ‘consumer’. I personally do not use this term anymore but within the mental health world/culture it continues to be a standard descriptive word for someone who has a lived experience of a mental illness)

Leonie Slade
​Director

To know Leonie is to know her passion and commitment to the rights of people with disability. Leonie is an active member and a strong advocate for the deaf community, and is particularly interested in promoting the rights and needs of people who are deafblind.

Having a lifelong disability, Leonie is aware of the barriers facing people with disability. However she also knows these barriers can be overcome with creative leadership.

Leonie strongly believes that CDAH, a locally based user-led organisation, will provide opportunities for people with disability to begin to take control of their own destiny.​

A video about the NDIS and the importance of peer support. Made by people with intellectual disability for people with intellectual disability.